McClendon
Sitemap Jack McClendon One of the big technical innovators/technologists in Rapture. McClendon made a bunch of money CONSULTING on Improved mechanisms for Nerve repair therapies, and later 'Control' for Plasmids (biological nerve based elements grafted in surgery) --- --- --- --- --- His work included : * Robotics * Early Control Technology * Bio-Electronics ' ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack McClendon grasped the importance of the Bio-Engineering he had heard about, and with one important discovery made possible the Bio-Electronics revolution in Rapture. Which also made projects like The Thinker possible ---- McClendon's Company : Minervas Den did its own fabrication of Bio-Electronics in-house, as well as repairs. It had developed the specialized genetic manipulation techniques/processes required to form the circuitry, and also to make conventional transistor-based components (already in use with McClendon's earlier robotics/control systems -- obtained largely through contacts in the Surface World). Being still largely intact, that Minervas Den manufacturing establishment became an early part of New Rapture. --- --- --- McClendon Recognizing Bio-Electronics Possibilities : A breakthru genetic manipulation of the "neuronic" tissue was the 'diode formation' at the Axon-Dendrite interface, which prevented backward flow of signals. A subsequent development was a similar interface to non-organic signal carrying structure coated with an insulator which allowed the biologically-based neurons to connect(interface) to fabricated circuit structures. In the training process of living neurons they would tie into some external signal sources and form the desired logic for when their electrical outputs similarly were connected. --- --- --- Robotic Little Sisters : RoboticLS.jpg RoboticLS4.jpg You may see these (in the MMORPG) marching around the perimeters of the New Rapture City Center. They were originally designed as Little Sister (ADAM collecting) replacements except that they were ignored by Big Daddies. A short sighted McClendon (as the game story goes) canceled the project (even after having prematurely manufactured a large batch of them). The sophistication built into them (sea-slug bio-electronic logic) would have made them usable for other things - such as security patrols or for their original purpose - arming them so that they did not need Big Daddies to protect them (they could have gone around in gangs if a single one was too vulnurable). The gathering functionality was obviously solved and engineered (unfortunately the cost of the needed SeaSlugs resulted in a severe cost-overrun). The New Rapture City, in the MMORPG (now controlling Minerva's Den), has access to the original stockpiles and the factory dies/plans to make additional electronic units and parts. They are still (if not more) expensive, and would be assigned to stable areas for general security patrols and would alert 'enforcer' forces instead of normally becoming involved in any combat. The player's ingenuity will probably be called on as a Mission to rebuild one of the prototypes into a functioning unit. The City would farm that work out to the Citizenry, and pay a reasonable price for success (as well as Brownie Points towards your Public Achievement projects ladder). You might even see them doing the function of dragging corpses back to the City, whether to recover their ADAM or as a Sanitation measure. --- --- --- Robotic Little Sisters - Verify It Works BEFORE You Start the Assembly Line : The main problem was that IT was a robot. The Sea Slugs require a human host (with organs and such) in which to live. If they could have done this artificially, then what need for the complexity of using children ?? Another problem - the Big Daddies didn't seem to bond to robots, due to the bond itself being based on psychological involvement, and a robot just couldn't simulate the subtle behavior required. Either issue was enough to put-the-kibosh on the project. ---- Cloud Computing comes to Rapture : ''' Some braniac (lots of that going around with Brain Boost) figured out that all the dozens of McClendon 'Home Computers' sold in Rapture could be interconnected and used (while otherwise idle) to run programs for the expanding computer accounting/computational industry (which eventually put many of the old style accountants/adding machine operators out of work). The computers were connected via a telephone line Intercomputer-Web to transmit data and instructions back and forth. 'Rental Charges' were paid the Home Computer owners for the processing time used. Amateur programmers could access this 'network' and a creative community grew up which developed numerous useful computer tools as well as games and other entertainment. A new company called 'Fruit' was even formed to try to sell some computers to ordinary citizens, but failed when their product was just the same equipment overpriced and sold with meaningless pretentious blather. Subsequently the idea of 'networking' computers together was used in a BIG way for The Thinker. ---- Really, How many of these coulda been sold ? Expensive as hell. Used as Office computers for a large company were more likely. Fad only of the Very Rich. ---- Spastichicken222.jpg|At least would have Paid for the Development --- --- --- '''Story of Discovery of Cellular Semi-Conductors : A researcher in the ADAM industry was using an Electron Microscope to check tissue samples modified by some early Tonic solution (the tissues are processed/dried and put in a vacuum for the electron bombardment/reflections to be viewable at very high resolution). The researcher noticed an irregularity in sections of tissue which flared in the electron beam in an odd way. Scanning one direction, the flare occurred in a cellular filament, but confusingly when scanning the opposite direction the flare did not happen. A colleague was shown and mentioned something about the current flow on the test sample operating in only one direction - an attribute of a very basic/fundamental electronic property (operating as a diode). Sometime later, this was remembered and it was mentioned in a lunchroom to another colleague who was working on an electrical-based Plasmid, whom it might prove useful to. Some further investigations were made to determine what was happening (initiative is one of Rapture's bywords). It turned out the Electron Microscope preparations introduced secondary chemicals into the tissue which were recombined in the 'drying out' process. The mechanism would not work on living tissue, but was mentioned inside Rapture's scientific grapevine, where it eventually reached the ear of Jack McClendon who was having trouble miniaturizing components for his robotic control systems. The discovery gave McClendon a revolutionary idea about a new technology which would make use of ADAM's ability to change cell structures to 'grow' various electronic components from cell tissue. He found out what genetic changes were made to the original tissue which had exhibited the odd properties (and what chemicals were used with the Electron microscope preparations), and hired an ADAM technologist to reproduce those results and to do further investigation. Given some experimentation (effort and time usually missing from the writers stories), the results were reproduced and then followed up by many refinements and adjustments. Much further development resulted in the Bio-Electronic technologies used for the new computer circuitry (and gave McClendon his much 'smarter' robots and eventually made 'The Thinker' possible a few years later). --- --- --- The McClendon Feedback Circuit (1945) : * Telephone link using tonal (not necessarily audible) signalling - miniturized (at that time) with micro vacuum tubes pix (transistors didn't exist yet). * Part of work McClendon did for Military Technology before coming to Rapture * Uses Conventional Telephone wires (twisted pair) to transmit data * Multiple signals can be sent on one pair of wires (frequency multiplexing) for remote monitoring/regulation (this was eventually The Thinker primary function...) * Important to the Life-Support systems in Rapture (monitoring air/temperature/seepage) --- --- --- McClendon Helped Rapture Automate Automation (another area applying McClendon's expertise) - Machines still need to be constructed, maintained and directed, but automation can significantly decrease labor costs. Most would be applied to small production lines because of the limited customer base in Rapture (no HUGE assembly lines). The average Rapturite might have more 'stuff' if automation could make goods production somewhat cheaper (if possible within the smaller production quantities that Rapture could support buying). Thus the automated production machines (required to make that happen) would themselves have to be common, and not too expensive (would be real handy to have a genius like McClendon in Rapture). --- --- --- McClendon's Decline - the Ill-fated Robotic Little Sister : How likely is it that someone (McClendon) who had already produce multiple successful complex products would NOT do a proper prototype (Robotic Little Sister) to test the feasibility BEFORE spending a whole lot of his money on major production process for something that DIDN'T WORK (ignored by Big Daddies). You'd think that the concept working should have been proven early (that it actually would work - Seaslug mechanism - major component that MUST work (OR maybe just haul the Blood back to a processing site with slugs - but no multiplier effect there so !?!?...), so with something THAT critical, any IDIOT tests that part first. Big Daddy bit ? - well alternate ways might exist to achieve the same thing. Heck - BIG Little Sisters Robots armed sufficiently to dissuade attackers - fricken Terminators in big little girl dresses - that might be funny - keep that idea for the 'might have been' Flashbacks.) Anyway, the usual (real world) process is first to have a prototype built and DEMONSTRATE that the idea even works --- BEFORE starting further engineering and expensive mass production of the parts. As a successful producer of complicated products, McClendon would KNOW all these things, and operate his business in that fashion. No mention that he was a Splicer becoming insane to have such a lapse. And with the R&D out of his own pocket, then doubly the reason to make a working prototype first. Possibly the 'paid for all the research and alot of development himself' on a workable model was sufficient to nearly bankrupt him (without even further waste of money production costs being needed) and resulted in his decline (but with the scale of his business, that doesn't seem likely... Competition maybe? ). Perhaps the prototype was simply too sophisticated, so that its development just ate too much of his resources. If this 'robot' could do many of the operations a Little Sister needed to do - maneuver, sense and search for targets, recognize threats, pathfind, climb up and down stairs and over obstacles, independently follow tasks/missions, communicate, manipulate the LS-needle tool, manage a Sea Slug ???? (it is hard to believe that McClendon did NO testing of any/all of these while prototyping), THEN what was already developed possibly still COULD have been used for many other purposes/projects (including mobile security robots -- LS-bot with a spotlight and a machine gun, or programmed with the 'cleaning of toilets' and cleaning windows, etc...). And arm those LS Robots sufficiently and what need for a Big Daddy Protector??? Heck, McClendon had whole piles of parts (we saw them) to start applying to such ideas (he likely had enough good people working for him to have suggested such a course). His creating all those other robotic devices SHOWED he possessed 'Innovative' skill and abilities which could have led to a better story. We could have had "Little Sisters of Silence" with those Infinitely stupid ear cones walking around listening for the sounds of leaks and structural stress damage, or Spider Splicers hiding in the walls OR whispers of plots against Ryan. - Robot Little Sisters Ideas : Of course wouldn't the Robotic Little Sisters also be targets of the ADAM addicted Splicers (or bootleggers seeking easy pickings) ? So these Robots would have to be armed (simpler than also requiring a Big Daddy to accompany them - and suddenly no problem with BDs rejecting them!!!! To easy and wouldn't match the Failtopia plot) And who says they have to be that small ???? Somehow they would have mutated to look like a Dalek ??? Why not just add an ADAM Siphon Module directly to a Big Daddy then ? !!!!! IT can't process the ADAM unless an artificial Little Sister Stomach with a SeaSlug is incorporated... WAIT isn't THAT what the Robotic Little Sister already HAD ????? (a LS symbiont simulation the Robot LS would have needed). Otherwise the first 'Doh' moment for McClendon WOULD have been "Well the Robot got to the corpse, sucked its blood, but "Oh Noooooooos!!!" I forgot about the part about needing a working Sea Slug to process the fricken ADAM !!!!! *Bangs Head Against Wall* " That wasn't mentioned, so does that mean there WAS a way to do this without a 'live' Little Sister ?? Now wouldn't THAT have been SMART ?? Or just have the BDs do corpse collection, to some safe location, where the LS worked, which could be built like a Fortress and largely-Splicer proof ???? "Little Undertakers" ? Its awfully LESS a problem than those vulnerable LS walking about then, don't you think ?? Big Daddy's cleaning up (corpses) would have been part of their original (maintenance) work. Rapture could even have had 'Bins' where ordinary folk (any left?) could themselves deposit corpses - though if they got paid, it might cause too many kill-for-profit incidents. Maybe Rapture wouldn't have smelled so bad or been as grungy with fewer corpses lying about... --- --- --- McClendon's Toilet Scrubbing Robot : "Somebody's gotta scrub the Toilets" - Well maybe not all that much. Labor saving devices would be 'all the rage', and technological solutions of all kinds could be invented and sold. Not everything could be automated (we could have seen more evidence of this ... attempts - and we might in the MMORPG). Basic living expenses may have been reasonably cheap, and wages even for lowest jobs may not have been that low. No new population flow into the city to artificially depress wages/salaries for needed jobs, competition would exist, so the labor market would/could self-balance. --- --- --- --- --- . .